Twitter Co-Founder to Give Away Over $1 Billion

DMM英会話のdaily newsに対する自分なりの意見を、備忘録としてまとめています。今回取り上げるテーマはTwitter Co-Founder to Give Away Over $1 Billionです。

Jack Dorsey, CEO and co-founder of tech companies Twitter and Square, said in April that he will give away $1 billion of stock in Square to help with the coronavirus response. When he made the promise, that was about 28% of his wealth. However, Dorsey's fortune has since increased from about $3.3 billion to about $5.7 billion.

Dorsey says that he is giving away the money because the problems it's going towards are urgent, and he wants to see the impact while he's still alive. "Life is too short," Dorsey told Vox, "so let's do everything we can today to help people now."

The stock has been put into Start Small, a limited liability company (LLC) controlled by Dorsey. Some people have criticized the use of LLCs to give away money because they are less transparent than charitable foundations. However, they let philanthropists use their money in more ways, such as investing in new technology, or supporting political causes. To make Start Small more transparent, Dorsey has released a list showing where the money is going.

So far, Start Small has given away over $145 million, with almost all of that going to coronavirus-related causes. More recently, however, Start Small has also been making donations to organizations related to police and justice reform in the US and the Black Lives Matter movement.

After the coronavirus pandemic, Dorsey said Start Small will focus on supporting girl's health and education and the Universal Basic Income (UBI). There are different types of UBI, but it's usually a policy in which a government or organization gives regular cash payments to a population for free.

While talking with Andrew Yang, who recently ran for US President and supports the UBI, Dorsey said that he plans to give away all of his money before he dies. "I'm so grateful, but part of gratitude is not just saying I'm grateful, it's doing," he said.

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Discussion:

■1:What are your thoughts on Jack Dorsey's decision to give away $1 billion of stock?

I think it is a very brave and respectable action.
By making donations, many underprivileged people can benefit, and I think he will be thankful to many.
Those who succeed with his donations may create a virtuous cycle in the economy.

However, I have never made a donation. Maybe it's because I don't have that much leeway.
I think his actions deserve praise because I don't think donations are easy things to do, even if they are financially wealthy.

■2:Do you find it surprising that Dorsey plans to give away all of his money before he dies?

For me, his beliefs are understandable but surprising. I may not be able to do the same.

I think his goal is to develop the world as a whole by distributing his assets to others rather than making them his own. These altruistic thoughts were very touching.

■3:What organizations or causes would you support if you were a billionaire?

We are considering two candidates for donations.

The first is a company related to coronavirus infections. In particular, I am interested in discovering new therapeutic agents and donating them to medical institutions.

The second is companies involved in supporting poor children. I want to save children who have no dreams for the future just because of the place of birth.

■4:Which of the world's richest people would you most like to meet?

In studying this topic, I am interested in Rockefeller, the oil king. He seems to have continued to donate 10% of his income when he was young. He says, get everything you can, save as much as you can, and give everything. That seems to be his belief.

■5:What are your thoughts on the idea of a Universal Basic Income?

agree with the UBI system.

Many people around the world were unemployed due to the new coronavirus pandemic.

There is a possibility that riots and crimes will occur when the economy goes bad, so I think we may be able to save them. Also, if the basic income is introduced, it may be easier to try new entrepreneurship.

There may be disagreements that the desire to work will disappear. However, for example, I think that the amount of payment should be set to an amount that does not allow people to live on basic income alone.

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■1:Have you ever considered investing in stocks?

I have experienced investment.

One of the challenges I've had is an index fund for the whole world. In other words, in the capitalist economy, I have believed in the growth of the world economy.

Currently I haven't made any new attempts. Looking back on my actions after learning about the dignity of making a donation makes me a little embarrassed.

■2:If you were looking for financial advice, who would you go to?

Who I want to talk to is Mr. Warren Buffett.

He is one of the most successful investors in the world, but is also known for making huge donations. He spends much money on investments such as reading. On the contrary, he is said to be very frugal when it comes to personal use such as food and home.

There may be new awareness in learning how to spend money.

■3:Who are your country's most well-known philanthropists? Please share what you know about them.

I think Japanese musician YOSHIKI is famous.

YOSHIKI was selected as one of "30 Best Philosophers in the Asia-Pacific Region" announced by "Forbes Asia" for its positive charity and its influence.

He has donated 10 million yen to a medical institution during this pandemic.

In 2015, he donated all of the proceeds of 28 million yen from the Great East Japan Earthquake reconstruction support live held at a Japanese live house.

■4:Do you use Twitter? If so, what do you mainly use it for?

Yes, I do.
I use it mainly for gathering information like news.
Get information faster than any other information site.
Videos and photos are often uploaded, so I can get more information than text alone.

Information on TV news and newspapers is sometimes manipulated by the intentions of companies and governments, but SNS can find more direct opinions.

■5:Do you think Donald Trump is likely to win the next US presidential election? Why? Why not?

I think he is unlikely to win the next presidential election.

In response to recent events, I think he has acted in a way that reduces public support.

Coronavirus pandemic. While many worried about the arrival of the second wave, he made a speech in Oklahoma. Many supporters were dense without masks. His rally has been criticized from all over the world.

Riot. Riots have taken place everywhere in connection with BLM. President Trump used his army to suppress the protestant peaceful protestant in front of the White House, but I don't think it would be a desirable response.

Bolton. Mr Bolton, who was former republican consultant, published a revelation book. Bolton has also appeared in multiple media outlets and talked about how Trump isn't right for president.

Given these circumstances, I think Mr. Trump's reelection is not very realistic.

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